Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time When we were in high school, we learned that the word sophomore came from Greek words meaning “wise fools.” The idea was that the second year student thinks he knows it all now, but still has a lot to learn. The first two readings describe wisdom versus foolishness. In Proverbs, Wisdom is a woman who invites us to her banquet, telling us to “forsake foolishness.” St. Paul invites us to give up our ignorance and to know the will of the Lord, by filling ourselves with the Spirit. Jesus says he himself is the way to understanding God’s will; he gives himself as food and drink for eternal life. So how will we accept these invitations to partake of the Wisdom of God?

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time The second reading of Paul to the Ephesians talks about forgiving one another. It reminds me of the line in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Mt 6:12) You could read that line as a warning that God only forgives those who forgive others. Paul reverses that conditional meaning to say that we forgive because God has already forgiven us. So which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Decimonoveno Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario. La segunda lectura de Pablo a los Efesios habla de perdonarnos unos a otros. Me recuerda la frase del Padrenuestro: “Perdona nuestras ofensas como nosotros también perdonamos a los que nos ofenden”. (Mt 6,12) Podrías leer esa línea como una advertencia de que Dios sólo perdona a quienes perdonan a otros. Pablo invierte ese significado condicional al decir que perdonamos porque Dios ya nos ha perdonado a nosotros. Entonces, ¿qué fue primero, el huevo o la gallina?

Decimoctavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario. Ya es suficientemente malo en sí que los israelitas se quejen contra sus líderes, pero también se quejan ante Dios de que hubiera sido mejor quedarse como esclavos en Egipto. Después de todo lo que Dios hizo para traerlos a la libertad, ahora quieren volver a la esclavitud. Antes de juzgarlos muy fuertemente, podríamos preguntarnos si alguna vez nosotros hemos actuado de esa forma. Para nosotros, podría ser mirar hacia atrás a nuestra esclavitud al pecado.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It’s bad enough that the Israelites were grumbling against their leaders. But they also complain to God that they were better off as slaves in Egypt. After all God did to bring them to freedom, now they want to go back to slavery. Before we judge them too harshly, we might ask ourselves if we ever act like that. For us, it might be looking back on our slavery to sin.

A number of MBS parishioners, along with many pilgrims from the Diocese of Green Bay, joined 60,000 other Catholics at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024. Our parish Director of Liturgy and Encounter, Maria Grygleski, shared about the experience along with a few key takeaways for our parish.

Decimoséptimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario. No es coincidencia que la primera lectura muestre al profeta Eliseo alimentando a una multitud de personas como Jesús en el evangelio. Si quieres comparar milagros, Eliseo lo hizo primero, pero Jesús lo hizo mejor. Eliseo tenía que alimentar a cien personas con veinte panes de cebada y un puñado de grano fresco. Jesús tenía cinco mil personas y sólo cinco panes y un par de peces. Entonces, ¿estaba Jesús tratando de superar a Eliseo?

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It’s no coincidence that the first reading shows the prophet Elisha feeding a crowd of people like Jesus in the gospel. If you want to compare miracles, Elisha did his first, but Jesus did it better. Elisha had a hundred people to feed with twenty barley loaves and a handful of fresh grain. Jesus had five thousand people and only five loaves and a couple fish. So was Jesus trying to show up Elisha?

Decimosexto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario. Probablemente sepas que a los judíos del primer siglo no les caia muy bien los gentiles. Algunos de los que se hicieron cristianos todavía despreciaban a los cristianos no judíos. En la epístola de hoy, Pablo aborda este problema recordándoles que Jesús murió por todos, tanto judíos como gentiles. Y así como Jesús resucitó de entre los muertos a una nueva vida, a los conversos al cristianismo también se les dio una nueva vida. Esa nueva vida del bautismo los unió a todos a Cristo, quien vive en ellos, los perdona y les trae la paz. Entonces, ¿por qué fue tan difícil de aceptar esa unidad?

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. You probably know that the Jews in the first century did not particularly like the Gentiles. Some of them who became Christians still looked down on the non-Jewish Christians. In the epistle today, Paul addresses this problem by reminding them that Jesus died for all people, Jew and Gentile. And just as Jesus rose from the dead to a new life, the converts to Christianity were given a new life also. That new life of baptism joined them all to Christ, who lives in them, forgives them, and brings them peace. So why was that unity so hard to accept?

Decimoquinto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario. La segunda lectura de Efesios es bastante larga y con sólo seis frases no es fácil de seguir. Si lo analizas, verás que Pablo es muy alentador. Está dando una descripción de las muchas bendiciones que Dios nos ha dado.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The second reading from Ephesians is rather long and with only six sentences, it is not easy to follow. If you take it apart, you see that Paul is very encouraging. He is giving a description of the many blessings God has given us.

Giving of your time IS parish stewardship! One hour of service to your parish bi-monthly could significantly increase parish family fellowship opportunities, help others grow closer to Christ, and support individuals in need within our parish community. Learn more about the current opportunities.

Decimocuarto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario. ¿Pablo está hablando en serio? ¿Te imaginas estar contento con “las debilidades, los insultos, las necesidades, las persecuciones y las dificultades”? (2 Cor 12,10) Pablo nunca especifica qué era esa “espina clavada en mi carne”. Antes solía pensar que se refería a una debilidad o discapacidad física. Pero algunos de los comentarios que he leído dicen que fue una persona que se opuso a Pablo (como alguien que sea muy fastidioso). Ese oponente puede haber sido un cristiano a quien Pablo no quería mencionar por su nombre.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Is Paul serious? Can you imagine being content with “weaknesses, insults, hardships, and persecutions?” (2Cor 12:10) Paul never specifies what that “thorn in the flesh” was. I used to think it referred to a physical weakness, or disability. But some of the commentaries I’ve read say that it was a person who opposed Paul (think of a “thorn in my side.”) That opponent may have been a Christian who Paul did not want to mention by name.

Decimotercer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario. ¿Parece abrumador el deber cristiano de ayudar a los pobres? Escuchamos que cada vez hay más personas sin trabajo, cada vez más personas sin hogar y cada vez vemos más fotografías de niños hambrientos. Incluso en la época de San Pablo había pobreza más que suficiente para todos. Estaba tratando de generar interés (en la segunda lectura) en un proyecto para ayudar a los cristianos en Jerusalén. Vemos aquí dos de sus razones.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Does the Christian duty to help the poor seem to be overwhelming? We hear more and more are out of work, more and more are homeless, and we see more and more pictures of starving children. Even in St. Paul’s time there was more than enough poverty to go around. He was trying to build interest (in our second reading) in a project to help the Christians in Jerusalem. We see two of his reasons here.

Most Blessed Sacrament participates the annual Oshkosh Back To School Fair. For the 2024-2025 school year, the giving trees will be in the back of church beginning June 27 & 28. Please take a tag and return donations by July 31. The Fair takes place August 14 & 15 - volunteers are welcome!